Overview

• Fed Chair Jerome Powell said equity prices are "fairly highly valued" and offered no timeline for further easing after the mid-September cut to 4.00%–4.25%.
• Stocks fell Tuesday with the S&P 500 down about 0.6% and the Nasdaq nearly 1%, then traded choppily Wednesday as early gains faded in parts of tech.
• AI headlines remained a key driver, with Alibaba outlining roughly $53 billion in new AI spending, Micron posting upbeat results and guidance, and ongoing scrutiny of Nvidia’s up to $100 billion plan to invest in OpenAI.
• Lithium Americas shares surged after reports the U.S. government is considering taking up to a 10% equity stake, alongside talks over a $2.26 billion Department of Energy loan tied to its Nevada project with GM.
• Futures markets continue to price a high probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut at the October FOMC meeting, with the PCE inflation print and upcoming jobs data seen as decisive.